[GRASS-dev] on the subject of toolboxes ...

[Paolo Cavallini]

Thanks Hamish for this discussion.

Il 20/05/2012 03:51, Hamish ha scritto:

> before any work begins on this in earnest at the code sprint, I'd just
> like to reiterate my take on the toolbox idea. i.e., (and insofar as I
> understand the proposal as it exists!) any move towards splitting up
> GRASS's build system and distribution package(s) would be a really
> really huge mistake.

I think there are two issues here:
- development cycle
- distribution.
I agree warmly that distribution should make life as easy as possible for users, so a
single package (standalone installer) is the main way to go.
As for development, I think splitting the release cycle of GUI and CLI would be
advisable, as they have different cycles, speed of development, and dependencies.
More clearly: if a [new|fixed|improved] command is ready, and its native GUI is not,
are we sure we want to keep this away form users that can profit form this using the
CLI or a different GUI?

> Namely, implement "views" in the wxGUI preferences section, with
> tick boxes where you can hide or show groups of modules as desired.
> A core set of common modules would always be ticked in a greyed-out box,
> and an "enable all" button would be present. Beyond that you can pick
> and choose.

I find filtering (as done in QGIS and in Sextante) quite simple and useful. Adding
tagging would be enough IMHO. Views could be interesting.

> One of the major benefits of GRASS compared to other kitchen-sink GIS
> is that you DON'T have to mess around with installing toolboxes. Every-
> thing you need is there already.

Agreed - that's why I'm still uncomfortable with addons (even though I understand its
rationale).

> In short, the disk space / download-time argument is a non-issue.

Agreed fully. Modularity, however, is always a Good Thing (e.g., I appreciated very
much your splitting because I do not want to install GUI stuff on a server, etc.).

> One final concern is that by relegating modules seldom used by the dev
> team into what would essentially be second class toolboxes, those modules
> will wither and die, and our more outside-of-the-mainstream users will
> suffer for it.

Agreed.

> comments? criticisms! both most welcome.. 

Hoe this mine will be useful.
All the best.
-- 
Paolo Cavallini - Faunalia
www.faunalia.eu
Full contact details at www.faunalia.eu/pc